Roland , a battery-powered sampler with a built-in microphone for capturing concepts shortly. There’s additionally a USB-C port and analog inputs for plugging in a higher-grade mic, a smartphone or an precise laptop for much more sampling alternatives. Roland calls it a “roving recorder,” doubtless as a result of it is almost sufficiently small to suit within a pocket.
The P-6 can maintain as much as 48 samples directly, cut up throughout eight banks of six pads. There are 4 accessible sampling charges to swimsuit completely different tastes, although the inner reminiscence is on the smallish facet. The keyboard enables you to chop up and set off these samples on the fly, along with enjoying samples polyphonically.
Like many , the Aira Compact P-6 is one thing of a jack of all trades. Sampling is the principle function, after all, however this factor features a granular synthesis engine and a 64 step sequencer. This sequencer is pretty feature-rich, with neat choices like off-grid sequencing, sub-steps, micro-timing and much more. You possibly can even manipulate samples in actual time in the course of the sequence, for improvisation functions.
There are additionally loads of results to make every pattern your personal. These embody a vinyl simulator, a looper, a phaser, a resonator and a lo-fi emulator, amongst others. The granular synthesis engine permits for much more “microscopic sound design” opportunities, with the ability to detune samples and adjust the grain shape.
If the idea of manipulating samples on a tiny device gives you the sweats, Roland offers a dedicated software suite called SampleTool. This brings even more features to the table, like downsampling, click removal and precise editing.
The battery should get around three hours of use per charge, so make sure to bring along a charger while out and about. The Aira Compact P-6 costs $220 and is available now. As the name suggests, this sampler is a sibling product to the , that are all pretty diminutive devices. There’s a drum machine, some synths, a vocoder and extra.